The Libya Killing Field

Global Research exposes the truth.

Libya in Pictures: What the Mainstream Media Does Not Tell You

by Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya


http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=25630

Why is the heat on Syria?

I have not seen any analysis of the covert wars being waged against Syria, the Western support for it, or the Turkish role in the fight.  4 years ago, I wrote an article which outlined why Syria would be 'invaded'. 

The Devil's Genius

July 17, 2007
The Devil's Genius
By Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrich
 
“There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root”.               - Henry David Thoreau  

With censorship abound, we must dodge the bullet of stupor and learn to recognize that Dick Cheney, this Yale drop-out who wore the color of cowardice during the Vietnam War, was chosen to be the devil’s instrument in order to influence George Bush on his destructive path. 

 

While the electronic highways are jammed with petitions to impeach Bush and Cheney, we must not fail to hold to account those who have held our highest office hostage and ax the root of evil.  The destructive forces have already made their way into our future and the sparks alone are more threatening that the blaze we are currently engulfed in.

 

A future determined by the enemies of compassion and humanity. The seeds of damnation have been planted in such places as The Institute for Advanced Strategic and Political Studies (IASPS); a Jerusalem-based think tank which spewed out the likes of David Wurmser, the Middle East adviser to Dick Cheney, Douglas Feith, and Richard Perle, the architects of the Iraq war.   They hatched their dastardly schemes among the most ambitious and ruthless of Americans, spreading their lust for hatred, greed, and genocidal wars.  Our collective apathy being the weapon they chose to accept for our submission. 

 

Surely it was no coincidence that David Wurmser found himself at the pro-Israel American Enterprise Institute (AEI) where Lynn Cheney, the Vice President’s wife was a senior fellow (and where she also served on board of directors of Lockheed until 2001.  Lockheed Martin stocks, not surprisingly, soared as a result of the illegal invasion of Iraq).  What good fortune for Wurmser that Lynn’s husband selected him to be his Middle East Security Advisor.  Cheney, the man behind the Iraq war, and the power in the White House.   With a defeated army, he seeks further battles as he turns his lust for another massacre towards Iran[i].   What is the prize of this slaughter?

Eliminating Competition 

Upon taking office, George W. Bush commissioned the Bakers Institute (Rice University) and the Council on Foreign Relations to study the energy trends and requirements of the 21st century.  The comprehensive 99-page report recommended that not only should the administration ease its Iraqi oil-field investment restrictions, but actions and policies should be taken to promote the well-being of the Iraqi people which was being undermined in light of the sanctions and the continuous bombings.  Although the report strongly recommended the enlistment of allies in order to phase out the sanctions with “highly focused and enforced sanctions that target the regime’s ability to maintain and acquire weapons of mass destruction” it stated that the hostilities should be stopped.

 

Furthermore, the joint report favored the Iranian route for the Caspian oil exports which would serve several purposes.  In itself, it would translate into a policy shift towards Tehran, and throw Iran as a counter weight to Iraq.  The transport of oil through Iran versus the prohibitively expensive longer and costly Baku-Ceyhan pipeline would be pf great benefit to the West, and the world, and help build up the drastically low global spare capacity, according to the report.   Another strong contention of the report was that the U.S. ought to move the Caspian region into a zone of cooperation with Russia instead of a zone of competition and confrontation, enabling future cooperation such as jointly countering Islamic militants in the region (Strategic Energy Policy Challenges for the 21st Century, 2001, pp. 38-40,45,)[ii].   Of note, the Kazakh officials had been in favor of the Iran route, as well as the U.S. oil companies such as Chevron, Exxon-Mobil and Conoco[iii]. 

 

There would have been no wars except…. 

 

A.Nesdat Pamir delivered a strategy paper in September 2001 which countered the Strategic Energy Policy Challenges for the 21st Century.   His paper was entitled “Turkey: The Key to Caspian Oil and Gas”.  He woefully cites the Strategic Energy Policy Challenges for the 21st Century paper while in his own strategy paper he argues that since the Persian Gulf is expected to be responsible for almost 80% of the world crude exports between 2000-2020,  the control of this oil is of utmost importance; citing a Turkish source, continues:  “ given that the price of oil have allowed states to invest heavily in Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), the primary external of this development, both economically and diplomatically, has been Russia”[iv].   Russia, therefore, is arming the Middle East with WMD and the 80% oil potential should be rescued.   According to him, the lifeline of America would be for it to use the prohibitively expensive Ceyhan –Baku Pipeline [through Turkey and Israel] in order to avoid the anti-American Middle East . 

 

In his paper, Pamir sounds the alarm at the Russian-EU friendship.  It is worthwhile reminding the readers that this report was written three months after George W. Bush invited Vladimir Putin to be his guest having “looked deep into his eyes” and trusting Putin.  Today, there are missiles pointing towards Russia and Russia is aiming missiles at Europe.  Indeed, the devil is a genius; so clever that the report Bush himself had commissioned was tossed aside.  War was chosen over peace.

 

Eleven short days after the illegal U.S. invasion of Iraq, the Israeli National Infrastructures Minister, Joseph Paritzky showed his keen interest in running Iraqi oil from Mosul to Haifa; an idea that had been previously discussed in the 80’s with non other than Donald Rumsfeld.[v]   That was just to wet the appetite….

 

Not only does Israel want to be the transit point for Iraq’s oil, but for the whole Caspian region.  According to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (Oct 21, 2005), Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, Israel’s infrastructure minister visited Turkey to discuss a $4 billion, 1,093 project to bring Caspian Sea oil and gas to Turkey’s Mediterranean coast from Azerbaijan via Georgia.   The Israeli interest is to see how this pipeline can serve Israeli interests.   Alternatives discussed were to transport the oil across Israel from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea, where it would be loaded onto tankers headed for Asia.  Another option was to use the 158-mile Eilat-Ashkelon Pipeline to transport the oil from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea.  The pipeline build in 1968 during the Shah’s regime was designed to ferry oil in the opposite direction, from east to west.[vi] 

 

It would seem that the flow of oil through Israel warrants the dropping of bombs on the region.  As IASPS adjunct scholar D.Y. Anaximander said in 2004: “The depths to which we've come … now marked by the convergence of terrorist Islam and Western elites (represented at this moment by the Democrat candidate for president of this country) are such that we must be grateful—it is horrifying to say—that we were attacked by Muslims.” [vii]  But if only oil were the only source of all evils.   A more precious and scarce commodity that is causing this butchery is water. 

 

Policy makers in the Middle East are keenly aware of the fact that climate change, population growth and escalating rates of consumption has made water a critical determinant of foreign policy and national security.  But none have Israel’s leverage given their strategists and implementers in Washington.

 

According to BBC online President Mikhail Gorbachev stated that there have been 21 armed disputes over water in recent history - and 18 of them involved Israel. "It's highly unfair," said Yehezkel Lein, a water expert for Israeli human rights group B'tselem, who help to solve water problems in Palestinian areas. "We are talking about mainly the mountain aquifer and the Jordan River system. Regarding the first one Israel exploits approximately 80% of the renewal water resources, and the Palestinians the remaining 20%.  Regarding the Jordan River system, the Palestinians do not have any access." [viii]  At the rate they are being massacred, Israel will soon have access to 100% of the water.  But that is hardly a drop in the sand for Israel’s insatiable thirst.

 

Israel faced one of its worst droughts in 1990-91.  A second more serious drought in 1998, forced it to turn to water rich Turkey. Years earlier, former Turkish President Turgut Ozal had proposed a “peace pipeline” to sell surplus water from the Seyhan and Ceyhan rivers to parched countries in the region; a costly project, with the daunting challenge of requiring cooperation between nations.  It was time to call in the troops – American troops.

 

In a strategy paper entitled “The Geopolitics of Water” (September 2000 - IASPS) penned by Paul Michael Wihbey and Ilan Berman, the following suggestions were made:

“The region contains two sets of countries, each capable of drawing others to follow them, depending on their success. At one pole are the Baathist dictatorships of Syria and Iraq: when the possibility existed, they were aligned with the Soviet Union against the West. At the other pole are the Israeli and Turkish democracies, allies of the U.S. through thick and thin. On the sidelines, Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon have swung to and fro.” They convince our policy makers in Washington that :  “There is little doubt that were Turkey and Israel intent on restoring Lebanon and distributing the area’s water in a rational manner, they would stand a chance of success. A stable strategic grouping capable of deterring the militant Baathist regimes in Syria and Iraq would promote the commencement of large-scale regional water planning and grid systems. Since extensive water planning proposals will necessitate the establishment of pipelines and energy grids stretching across borders, a political and military structure that can ensure the safety and security of the carriers will be the prerequisite to effective water sharing. Already, Turkey and Israel have engaged in serious negotiations starting in May 2000 to import 50 billion cubic meters of fresh water from Turkey using tanker ships. But an effective regional system would require political-military cooperation against Syria”  

Contrary to the devils’ predictions, invasion of sovereign Iraq met with resistance.  Turkey claims that the Manavgat River basin is secure and that all necessary measures will be taken to guarantee the safety and quality of water up to the loading point, but the pipeline would have to go through Syria.  Israel needs troops, American troops in the region to ensure the safe passage of water – and oil. 

 

Our policy makers, possessed, have drowned America’s soul in blood, shame, and infamy.  Once again, ignoring a policy of diplomacy which would lead to peace, we are being led to war.  We owe it to future generations to redeem ourselves.  Not only must Bush and Cheney be impeached, all those who endorse the policy of ‘all options are on the table’ be removed from office, but with awareness and sound values, we must hold to account the hijackers of American policy. “When spiders unite, they can tie down a lion”.  Ethiopian proverb

 

The Empire's Democracy Project Continues......

What awaits the other countries being ravaged by Israeli commanded, American led, NATO:

You promised me democracy,

But look what you have done to me.

You robbed my past,

and future stole,

and a present

left to me,

crushed beyond

a mending hope.

Ten years before invading me,

you broke my dams

and bridges bombed,

and power plants,

and sewage lines,

and water mains,

You fed the plants

with pesticide,

The baby food and medicine

you destroyed;

and the silos

of my grain

you set aflame.

So I may not

make good my loss

nor repair

my water mains,

you shackled me

in sanctions,

and a million kids

you starved to death.

I lived Saddam’s

nightmare through.

I knew what I

must watch out for.

But now I don’t know

where to hide

for death has lost

its pattern now.

He used to kill

and bury us,

friendless in

our unmarked graves;

but our names

he kept on files.

And now that you

are killing us,

we do not even

have a grave,

nor a number

nor a name–

thus in your books

we never lived.

He was your friend

who hurried us,

so many to their

early deaths,

with weapons that you

sold to him,

while you looked

the other way.

He was not

a ‘tyrant’ then,

which of late

he has become.

You merely changed

the label,

so you could come

and liberate,

the wealth that we

are sitting on,

and this you call

our liberation!

You promised me

democracy,

but look what you

have done to me.

With bombs you won

my heart over,

with blows you changed

my mind.

You tore into

my home at night,

and pulverized

my only peace.

And shrieking as

my mother watched,

with frightened children

Gathered ‘round,

you floored my father

in a heap,

with kicks and blows

and rifle butts,

and tore my humble

home apart.

Then you led

our men away,

with tied hands

behind their backs,

and with their eyes folded blind,

into the endless prison night.

And there you tore

my father’s robe.

To cover then

his nakedness,

upon his head

you put the hood,

and leashed him like

a dog on show,

and your dogs

unleashed on him.

You promised me

democracy,

but look what you

have done to me.

You took my youth

in prime away–

you shredded wedding

gatherings.

The little joys

that I had left,

merriment in

a broken life,

now in collateral

damage rest,

rising up

in smoke and flame,

of a mindless

bombing run.

‘Tis peel and husk

I have for food,

and water mixed

with sewage now

is all I have

to slake my thirst.

You even took

my sand away,

polluted by

uranium dust,

so when I have

my children they

shall be deformed,

unlovely and

unkissable–

and so unlike

your lovely kids!

My millions homeless

roam the road,

and orphaned children

beg in streets.

My women raised

in sanctity,

are now the stuff

of ravishment.

My men are slaughtered

out of hand,

and widows search

the morgues for them.

My dawn is dull,

and dusk is blood,

and bombs and blasts,

my afternoons.

My night in hopelessness is sunk,

when peace with me

a refuge takes,

and heaps on me

another dawn–

another search

of bodies lost;

another count

of heaped insults;

another day

to death evade,

call it life,

and celebrate.

So now when I

am fighting back,

my fearlessness

is causing awe.

Unequal,

but unafraid,

when I equalize myself,

and blow my only

life away,

you are shocked,

and label me

a terrorist!

I who want

my honor lost

and country back–

–a terrorist?

And you who came here

for my oil,

on crutches of

a shameless lie,

are and always

shall remain,

the humanist!

I know your type.

I see your greed

and hunger know,

but it is those

I want to know,

whose vote does so

empower you.

Do they not see

what they have done?

They promised me

democracy,

but look what they

have done to me!

(c) 2010 by Saeed Malik

CommonSense Interview with RT and the uprisings in the Arab World

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5w2J07bWaGs

Top US Official on OBL

"Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State under three different administrations Steve R. Pieczenik says he is prepared to tell a federal grand jury the name of a top general who told him directly 9/11 was a false flag attack".

http://www.prisonplanet.com/top-us-government-insider-bin-laden-died-in-2001-911-a-false-flag.html

Osama Bin Laden Is Dead - Again!

Americans are at their most vulnerable 

They are vulnerable because they are gullible

They are gullible because they are ignorant

They are ignorant because they are deliberately misinformed.

When Obama announced OBL dead, it was established as a fact - the truth.   Where truth is concerned, it clearly matters where you were born - or else the truth does not matter.

In a 2007 interview, a former Pakistani born president (twice) and a leading opposition candidate favored to win the 2008 general Pakistani elections,  Benazir Bhutto, claimed that Omar Sheikh had murdered OBL in an extraordinary interview (see link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnychOXj9Tg),  she did not get [re] elected -- she was assassinated.    Her allegations were buried by the mainstream media along with her.   Without a doubt, the American-born  US President's announcement of OBL's death will extend Barak Obama's occupancy of the White House for another four years.   Neither Bhutto nor Obama produced a corpse to back their claim, yet it appears that nationality has its privileges -- that of establishing the truth.      

A pertinent question arises:  Why would the U.S. put an expiration stamp on the Osama card when it had served the empire so well?

Inarguably, OBL had proven his value.   Even in his 'death', he continues to serve the American Empire.    We have been duly warned that "U.S. intelligence officials believe Osama bin Laden made a propaganda recording shortly before his death and expect that tape to surface soon." (see here)     The possibility of a future tape, puts the Obama administration in the comfortable fall-back position and enable false flag operations when necessary.   What dedication.   Is it any wonder that OBL was granted his dearest wish --  to die in battle (and not murdered by a fellow Moslem, or sickness, or ..)?   

Although OBL was with our consciousness well before 2001,  the events of September 11 gave him a new prominence - and for years thereon,  he knew when to be silent and when to speak out (apparently the trend will continue after his death).    Admittedly, this inordinate ability to speak or be silent took some training - or persuasion.

For three years after 9/11, OBL denied being behind the attacks stating:  "Following the latest explosions in the United States, some Americans are pointing the finger at me, but I deny that because I have not done it. The United States has always accused me of these incidents which have been caused by its enemies. Reiterating once again, I say that I have not done it, and the perpetrators have carried this out because of their own interest," (CIA FBIS: Usama bin Laden Statements 1994-2004 , Wikileaks, September 14, 2008).    Perhaps the pounding of Afghanistan and Iraq deafened him into submission - or substitution.   

In October 2004, a videotape of OBL is broadcast in which he assumes responsibility for 9/11.   (The still photo from the 2004 video is worthy of scrutiny.  It closely resembles the still image presented alongside Obama on today's C-Span.   Although the hair coloring varies, there are two consistencies:  the same wide and uncharacteristic nose and the same exact outfit see link - minute 5:25).     After three years of only audio messages, in 2007 (after his first publicly announced death), a new videotape of OBL emerged -with a dyed and trimmed beard to please his global audience (see link).  This picture is an exact duplicate of the two above mentioned pictures.  It was this incredible image of OBL that prompted me to write my first article about the man.  I could not fathom a man devoted to a vigorous practice of fundamental Islam defying the Islamic ideology pertaining to vanity - especially while living in his snug cave.   His black trimmed beard was unorthodox.   Although he sported a shorter beard, he had set his sight far -- he was  analyzing and criticizing the US Democratic Party's moves.

On January 6, 2008, I wrote a second and brief article  questioning OBL's absence in the face of Israel's massacre in Gaza.   I should have been more patient.   Eight days after my article was posted on various sites,  a recording accompanied by a still photo of Bin Laden superimposed over the al-Aqsa mosque was delivered.   It was heartwarming to know that Gaza had not been forgotten.  OBL's audiotapes continued to surface.   The man truly kept abreast of current events.  In 2010,  OBL even asked for the boycott of American goods for not addressing climate change.  Way to go OBL! 

Contrary to the latest revelations about OBL's living conditions in luxury and probably with the knowledge of Pakistanis, it had always been thought that OBL sent audio messages because he was in a cave or on the run.   Now at least, with his demise, we are shown pictures of his corpse.   Regrettably, it has been brought to light by The Guardian that the picture of the corpse presented as proof of his demise seems to be old, recycled pictures.    Notwithstanding this shortsightedness, we have been deprived of further photo opportunities in an attempt  to respect Islamic rituals.    US intelligence tell us that OBL's body was dumped into sea in accordance with Islamic burial demands of a 24 hour burial time frame.   It is always refreshing to hear that Islam is respected after the many wars against Islamic countries.    

So back to the main question:  Why did the United States decide to expire Osama bin Laden at this juncture?

It would be naive to think that the  logic behind the expiration stamp is restricted to promoting the incumbent president and uniting a dissatisfied nation (two thirds dissatisfied or angry with the government see link) and rally the people around the flag.   It is equally naive to think that the world needed to be distracted from the reality that an attempted assassination of a foreign leader which led to the murder of his family members was a factor.  Nor can one attribute this event to the justification of the illegal and immoral CIA-drone killings in Pakistan.   There must be more than meets the eye! 

Perhaps for the time being, America is so confident in its latest lethal weapon - the pro-democracy cyber dissidents, that it decided to trade the 'war on terror'' with humanitarian imperialism brought about with the help of its cyber dissidents.    Such grand gestures of 'humanitarian intervention' to promote democracy require the public consensus.   Write OBL's death certificate  and the 'good' against evil fight is back on - confident that 'good' will prevail.    

Cyber warriors and the call for 'humanitarian intervention imperialism':

The World Movement for Democracy  was initiated by George W. Bush in which he told CIA front National Endowment for Democracy (NED) that his administration’s democratization initiative [America must approve the outcome of elections] would focus first on the Middle East - starting with Iraq.  This movement has been zealously followed by Obama.  Lest we should be inclined to hold Bush to account for all the changes, we  ought to be reminded that in 1999,  the 'dovish' Jimmy Carter and neocon Paul Wolfowitz penned and article  ("Don't Take Democracy for Granted", WSJ, July 21, 1999) praising Ronal Reagan's establishment of NED to spearhead America's ''nongovernmental" (covert psyops) efforts to 'assist' democratic movements around the word. 

More importantly, we must revisit the historical aspects of "democracy" and what it means to America.

President  Theodore Roosevelt claimed: "Democracy has justified itself by keeping for the white race the best portion's of the earth's surface."   The need to justify 'democracy' further, led to capture of more of earth's surface,  which no doubt explains the remarks by  General Arthur MacArthur, (father of Douglas) when he said:  "America's wonderful thrust into Asia was the destiny of the magnificent Aryan people."  After the brutal takeover of the Philippines,  Senator Beveridge claimed: ...." [J]ust beyond the Philippines are China's illimitable markets. God has not been preparing the English-speaking and Teutonic peoples for a thousand years for nothing but vain and idle self-admiration. No, he has made us the master organizers of the world...that we may administer government among savages and senile peoples...the Philippines are ours forever...and just beyond the Philippines lie China's illimitable markets...We will not renounce our part in the mission of our race, trustee under God, of the civilization of the world...China is our natural customer. The Philippines give us a base at the door of the East.. it has been  charged that our conduct of the war has been cruel. Senators, it has been the reverse. Senators, remember that we are not dealing with Americans or Europeans. We are dealing with Orientals." (source: http://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/155/25996.html).   

No doubt the renewed thrust of the empire into the Middle East to justify democracy, assassinate, and plunder is not new; but the method is novel - democracy's cyber warriors.

Part II of this article will elaborate on the method and the targeted countries.

Shirin Ebadi

The Nobel Laureate and I: A Response to 'Shirin Ebadi Prepares for the End'

Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi's belief that the regime's days in Tehran are numbered is based on optimism; but regrettably, the interview belies her habitual style of distorting reality to her advantage.  It was this unattractive trait that turned the pride I felt in being her interpreter in January 2006 to disappointment, disbelief, and displeasure.

It is curious that once again Ebadi, this 'human rights' lawyer, should get herself involved in Iran's nuclear program and opine that the 'leadership is not negotiating in good faith'.  It was her very assessment of Iranians and her source of information which dumbstruck me in 2006 when she stated that the Iranian people didn't support the nuclear program and the supporters we witnessed on television were the 'paid Basij'.   

Contrary to this misinformation, the uniting factor in Iran is the nuclear program.  A 2004 poll showed that 75-80% of the Iranians rallied behind the Islamic Republic of Iran in support of its nuclear program including the full fuel cycle.  A fact confirmed in a 2007 poll conducted by the U.S. Institute of Peace.  The latter elaborates that: "Even with the crackdown on liberties, free press, and the increasing oppression in the country, the poll found that 64% of those polled said that US legislation repealing regime change in Iran would not be incentive enough to give up the nuclear program and full fuel-cycle".

Ms. Ebadi contends that the United States should only deal with a government in Tehran that respects human rights.  It is true that there is human rights violations in Iran.  To deny it, would be unforgiveable.  And to justify it based on the fact that the United States commits, or causes to  be committed,  the most appalling human rights violations witnessed in modern history, is wrong.  However, it is worthy of mention that in spite of the dismal human rights record of the United States, all countries in the world 'talk' to it.  One can therefore conclude that power and not respect for human rights sets the agenda for 'talks'.  

What is most surprising is that this recipient of a Nobel prize, a lawyer, is totally ignorant of international treaties, although she can be forgiven for not knowing the American Constitution.   Ms. Ebadi recommends that the United States continue its blatant violation of the Algiers Accords -- a bilateral agreement concluded between Iran and the United States, and  use VOA and Radio Farda to reach Iranians inside Iran 'to convince them  that the sanctions are targeted at the regime and not the ordinary Iranians'.

If Ms. Ebadi has been 'harassed' by officials in Iran, its perhaps her total disregard for law.   Point I.1 of the Algiers Accord states: “The United States pledge that it is and from now will be the policy of the United States not to intervene, directly or indirectly, politically or militarily, in Iran’s internal affairs.”  Per Article VI of the Algiers Accords, the violated party, Iran, has the right to refer the matter to the Tribunal at Hague, the Netherlands, where the International Court of Justice will have jurisdiction.    

Further, the 1955 Treaty of Amity signed between the United States and Iran, which due to its 2/3 majority approval was signed into law.  The linchpin of the Treaty is free trade between the two countries.  Neither party has called to dissolve the Treaty.  Yet, in spite of the Treaty being in full force, sanctions have been imposed on Iran and Ms. Ebadi is encouraging the United States not only to dishonor its domestic laws, but to violate the bilateral Algiers Accords. 

This promoter of human rights, who has taken it upon herself to speak on behalf of Iranians, states:  'Iranians will endure considerable hardship if they think the endgame is greater respect for human rights'.  Is she suggesting that Iranians, like Iraqis, be subjected to considerable hardship if they can have respect for human rights - a respect that has yet to be translated into reality on the ground after hundreds of thousands have died.    

It is a coincidence that this indistinguishable figure who was proud to be a judge during the Shah's era, a period of dictatorship when the more fortunate dissidents were subjected to SAVAK's torture techniques while others disappeared,  is now hailed as the champion of human rights endorsing meddling in Iran's affairs by the American propaganda machine.  Almost too much of a coincidence.  What made her stand out against all the other activists not only in Iran, but around the globe who worked so hard towards the  'liberties'  that the Western perspective could  recognize and relate to? 

It is curious that in interviewing Mr. Ebadi, Jeffrey Gedmin of Foreign Policy should mention Vaclav Havel.  A new wave of liberal thinking emerged which endorsed the idea of promoting 'democracy'  ("liberal Imperialism")  in places of interest, i.e. Iraq and Iran through an individual  "And even more important, one could point to the success of leaders like Kim Dae Jung, Nelson Mandela, Vaclav Havel....."  It was also believed that transition to 'democracy' required focusing on "political strategies" and introducing "indeterminancy" and "uncertainty" into the process of political change which in itself was ground for cautious optimism that democracy could catch on.

In 2006, when Ms. Ebadi was being praised for her "bravery" and asked how it was that she was not afraid to go to Iran, she responded: When I got my Nobel prize and went back to Iran, there were over one million people at the airport waiting for me.  They [the government] wouldn't dare touch me.".   One has to wonder why she would be afraid to come back with her one million supporters?  Or perhaps it is the hardship she is encouraging for the Iranians that keep her away from the land which will no doubt reject interference, including all those who solicit them.